Fifty years on...
 

Despite budget setbacks, the losses of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia, and withering public support, NASA continues to pursue manned space flight.

Fifty years ago today, 5 May, 1961, American Navy Pilot Alan Shepard strapped a Redstone rocket to his back and made his short jaunt some 115 miles or so into near-Earth orbit, going downrange some ~300 miles over the course of his ~15 minutes flight. In so doing, he opened the fledgling space agency's Manned Spaceflight program.

Bravo Zulu, Admiral Shepard; Rest in Peace, we remember.

:salute:

:salute:

:salute:

I think i'll watch "From the Earth to the Moon" tonight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_th..._miniseries%29

Yes we remember, :salute:

Time for one of Platapus' almost interesting space trivia questions!

Who was the first person to go in to space twice?

Think carefully. (muhahaha)

Virgil Grissom?

http://www.universetoday.com/wp-cont...ard-apollo.jpg

"Light this candle!" :salute:

~SALUTE~

Rgr that:

Virgil Gus Grissom (1926-1967) first flew into space in July 1961, on the second suborbital Mercury mission. It was officially called Mercury-Redstone 4, but the spacecraft was more popularly known as Liberty Bell 7. In March 1965, he piloted the first manned flight for the Gemini program, Gemini 3 (nicknamed the Molly Brown), and orbited Earth three times with co-pilot John Young (1930-). Grissom thus became the first man to fly into space twice.

Nope

Joseph Albert Walker

X-15 pilot

19 July 63 reached an altitude of 106km
22 Aug 63 reached an altitude of 108 km

Under Air Force rules any flight above 80.5 km qualifies the pilot for Astronaut wings and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) defines space travel as an altitude exceeding 100km aka the Karman line.

I'm thinking more The Right Stuff myself.

Although it was believed that the movie would boost John Glenn's 1984 presidential bid, it made everybody want to vote for Chuck Yeager instead. :D

Well every now and then I learn something worth remembering on this forum. Thanks Platapus!

Here is another brain teaser

Who was the last American to orbit the earth as the only occupant of the spacecraft (solo)?

Think carefully :D

Guess I'll be the sacrificial lamb and go with the usual choice of Gordon Cooper. :O: